2020 Science Archives
Here you’ll find all the currently existing posts on 2020 Science, in reverse date order. Feel free to browse through them, or if you’re looking for something specific, use the search box below.
Responsible development of new technologies critical in complex, connected world
The World Economic Forum’s 2015 top 10 emerging technologies reflect the tremendous potential of technology innovation. Yet to build a resilient tech-based future, we need new ideas, new research and new tools that will enable us to realize the benefits of technology innovation, while keeping us a safe distance from potentially catastrophic collapse. It’s a tough challenge, and one that will demand unprecedented levels of interdisciplinary investment, collaboration and creativity. Yet the price of not innovating responsibly is one that may just be too large to live with.
Have you ever wondered …?
Have you ever wondered if green potato chips are safe to eat? Or whether peeing in the swimming pool is a good idea? Or what makes something toxic? Risk Bites has a snazzy new poster aimed at raising awareness of the video channel to K-12...
The science of “anti-vaccination” – a great primer from SciShow
Yesterday, Hank Green and the YouTube channel SciShow posted a particularly good video on the anti-vaccination movement. Unlike many commentators from within the science community, instead of vilifying parents who don’t get their kids vaccinated – or are hesitant about doing so – Green takes a science-grounded look at why people reject vaccines.
Measles mortality rates – 2008-2011 outbreak, France
Yesterday, I posted a piece examining the oft-quoted mortality rate for measles of one to two deaths per thousand cases of infection. Today, I want to look at what can be learned from more recent and more comprehensive dataset - this one from the...
What is the risk of dying if you catch measles?
If you catch measles, what are your chances of dying? When I was a kid, measles was one of those things you were expected to catch. I had it when I was five, and must confess, I don't remember much about the experience. I do remember being...
Is novelty in nanomaterials overrated when it comes to risk?
Novelty and nanotechnology are deeply intertwined. The search for nanostructure-enabled materials has driven research funding in nanotechnology for well over a decade now; the exploitation of novel properties has underpinned the commercialization of nanomaterials; and concerns over potential risks has stimulated widespread studies into what makes these materials harmful. Yet ‘novelty’ is an ephemeral quality, and despite its close association with nanotechnology, it may be an unreliable guide to ensuring the long-term safety of materials that emerge from the field. If this is the case, do we need to find alternative approaches to developing advanced materials and products that are safe by design?
Emerging technologies must be developed responsibly
From smart phones to cancer cures, we depend on technology innovation more now than at any point in human history. Yet in a cruel twist of irony, emerging technologies that could help improve lives and protect the environment may ultimately end up doing more harm than good. That is, unless new approaches to responsible innovation are developed and adopted…
World Economic Forum highlights risks of emerging technologies
The challenges of governing emerging technologies are highlighted by the World Economic Forum in the 2015 edition of its Global Risks Report. Focusing in particular on synthetic biology, gene drives and artificial intelligence, the report warns...
Are quantum dot TVs actually better for the environment?
Earlier this week, The Conversation reported that, “The future is bright, the future is … quantum dot televisions.” And judging by the buzz coming from this week’s annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that’s right – the technology is providing...
Bad luck and cancer – did the media get it wrong?
The chances are that, if you follow news articles about cancer, you'll have come across headlines like "Most Cancers Caused By Bad Luck" (The Daily Beast) or "Two-thirds of cancers are due to "bad luck," study finds" (CBS News). The story - based...
What’s your favorite risk of the week…?
Forget Dr. Oz and The Food Babe - the Risk Bites Holiday Video has enough risks du jour for everyone, and then some. With a tongue in cheek tip of the hat to Tom Lehrer's Elements Song, we've crammed 108 risks into a mere 80 seconds - everything...
Responsible Innovation – Seventeen Haiku
How do you creatively explore the challenges and opportunities of developing new technologies responsibly? This past summer, the University of Michigan Risk Science Center partnered with the V2_ Institute for Unstable Media in Rotterdam to just...
Five things worth knowing about concussion and contact sports – video
The health impacts of concussions suffered while playing sports have been receiving increased attention in recent years. According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, An estimated 3.8 million concussions occur each year as a result of...
Is 3D printing an artificial brain plausible? And what are the risks?
Could we one day 3D print Arnold Schwarzenegger's brain? Before you ask, yes, this is a post about risk. And no, I'm not talking about the dangers of immortalizing the star of Terminator Genisys' real-life biological brain. But to begin somewhere...
Researchers should take more responsibility for exaggeration in press releases
According to a new paper in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), exaggerated claims in health-related news stories -- including advice that isn't supported by evidence -- may often have their roots in academic press releases and the scientists that...
Has anyone heard of BPA?
While writing a recent article on BPA-free labeling, I happened to mention the topic of bisphenol-A to a couple of smart people I know. "bis-what?" came the response. Thinking they just weren't familiar with the chemical's full name, I went...
New study shows “BPA-free” labels may increase risky behavior
Products with the label "BPA-free" have become ubiquitous on store shelves in recent years. It's a trend that has been driven by consumer concerns that the chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, may be harmful at low doses. Yet a recent study suggests...
Why don’t more people get flu shots?
A few weeks ago I talked with Katie Wells at Michigan Radio about why some people are reluctant to get flu shots - myself included up to last year. The interview was rebroadcast on Marketplace this last week, and can be heard here: The prompt for...
Will calorie labels counter cancer?
Two related news items caught my eye this morning: First, the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has just published a new study in The Lancet claiming that in 2012, between 3% - 6% of all cancers around the...
The low-down on vaping and health
Vaping has come of age it seems - at least according to the Oxford Dictionaries. The word "vape", which is synonymous with electronic cigarette use, has been selected as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2014. So what is vaping, and what...
A decade of uncertainty in nanoscale science and engineering
First published in Nature Nanotechnology, 5 March 2014. Nature Nanotechnology 9, 159–160 (2014) doi:10.1038/nnano.2014.43 [Link] Ten years after the publication of an influential report on the uncertainties in nanoscale science and engineering,...
A Scientist’s Manifesto
Four years ago I posted Professor Robert Winston's "Scientist's Manifesto" on 2020 Science. Having just gone back and read this, it still resonate deeply with me - so I'm reposting it in the hope that it will also resonate with others: 1. We...
Mapping global risks and opportunities in 2015
Over the next few days, I'll be joining experts from around the world to address emerging global trends and challenges at the World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda. Framing our discussions will be the just-released Outlook on the Global...
Risk Bites: Five awesome reasons to subscribe
Between now and the end of the year, we're aiming to reach 10,000 subscribers on the Risk Bites YouTube channel, and we need your help. To find out how, click here or check out the #RiskBites10k hashtag on Twitter Otherwise, keep on reading to...
Framing Emerging Technologies
How do we chart a path forward toward the effective and responsible development and use of new technologies? For the next two years, the World Economic Forum Meta-Council on Emerging Technologies will be tackling this and other questions as it...
Google goes all Polio and Public Health
If you hadn't noticed, today's Google doodle celebrates the 100 year anniversary of Jonas Salk's birth - Salk pioneered the first successful inactivated virus based vaccine for Polio. As The Guardian reminds us, it's a good reminder of the power of...
BPA and cash register receipts: should you be worried?
I'm a bit of a cash register receipt junkie. I obsessively stuff my wallet with those little slips of thermal paper telling me how much I've spent. And it has to be paper - none of this e-receipt nonsense. But an article published last week in...
Combatting Ebola: Moving beyond the hype
As of October 19, over 9,000 cases of Ebola had been reported, with close to 5,000 deaths, almost exclusively in West Africa. And while there have been success stories such as the elimination of Ebola infections from Nigeria and Senegal, the...
Five things worth knowing about ebola
There's something rather human about being scared of the ebola virus. It's a "bogeyman" virus - the stuff of nightmares; hovering in the shadows of our imagination like a half-glimpsed specter. Like most imagined horrors though, the reality of...
Risky tales: Talking with Seth Shostak at Big Picture Science
I had a roller coaster of an interview with Seth Shostak (Director of the Center for SETI Research and host of Big Picture Science) last week on risk and black swan events. I was poised to talk about rare but high impact events like a mega-eruption...